good morning, everyone. welcome to news 4 midday. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm keith russell. it's thursday, november 8th, 2012. in the northeast, people are shoveling themselves out. a new snowstorm hampered the region dumping more than four inches of snow in new york and new jersey adding to the misery for people who have not had power and gas. the storm is responsible for more power outages in the region. some are wondering if power will be back on by thanksgiving.

>> it's unbelievable to go from a hurricane to a norrest ear and driving in the snow in the same week or same ten days. it's unbelievable. >> utility companies are working to try to get the power on and to get the heat turned on as quickly as possible. >> north of noonlg noonlg and new york, connecticut, drivers are dealing with treacherous driving conditions. a car collided with a jackknifed club. in lebanon, another car overturned. the coastal storm could dump as much as a foot of snow in new england. here in washington, we missed the brunt of the storm. it affected travel. at reagan international, some people had to spend the night. megan mcgrath has more. >> reporter: here at reagan national airport, things are getting back to normal. on the board, this flight to new york's laguardia is listed on time. down below, a flight to newark

has been canceled. we have frustrated passengers here this morning. this comes a week after sandy blew through and reeked havoc on flight scheduled. there were the lucky, those able to fly out on time this morning. >> boarding time is 7:10. >> reporter: there were the unlucky. people who got stuck at reagan national, their flight scrapped due to the snow. richard spent the night in the terminal. >> tried to get a hotel. they had been booked or not responsive. it's tough. i slept there. many people sleft there. it's been interesting. >> reporter: the cancellations in and out of new york began before the weather became a problem on wednesday. things just started to get back to normal after sandy hit. carriers took no chances getting planes stuck in the big apple. they started cannesling flights

before the snow began to fall. >> they called me monday at 1:00 in the afternoon and canceled my flight. that was it. it was like, there's no weather here or there. i had to cancel my one-day meeting. >> this couple, both members of the military vfr trying to get to new york for the big event. they finally got a flight out today. their luggage with their dress uniform is missing. >> text messages from united saying our flights have been canceled. they reroute us and try to find our bags. we don't know where they are at. they are floating. i think they'll find them. >> reporter: check with your carrier to make sure your flight is not among those that's been canceled. from reagan national airport, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> turning to the weather now and what to expect after the cold morning we have had. sun is out. >> it's good news for us.

meteorologist tom kierein is here with the forecast. >> hey, tom. >> good morning. the wind has been blustery all morning long. we are feeling the peripheral effects of the storm that slammed new jersey, new york, new england. now, looking at storm team 4 radar, no precipitation here. we had a little snow, sleet, rain in the predawn morning. over the last six hours, the cloud cover beginning to break up west to east. cloudy east of washington and around the bay in the eastern shore. it's clearing up around virginia and west virginia. the dry air continues to push in and clear out the sky as we get into the afternoon hours. temperatures right now, just past 11:00. it's pushing 50 degrees at reagan national and the nearby suburbs in prince george's. montgomery county, in the mid-40s. winds, well, they are gusting to

around 20 to 25 miles an hour now. it's going stay that way during the afternoon. it's going to feel chillier than that. details and a wonderful warm up on the way for the weekend. it's coming our way. >> thank you. >> can't wait. stock prices are losing ground. the dow, nasdaq and s&p are down after opening the day higher. the dow fell over 300 points yesterday. the biggest plunge of the year. it started by two u.s. economic reports. decrease in applications for unemployment and slimmer trade deficit. more on a recent slide and more from cnbc later in this newscast. >> right nou, we are going to check on the traffic. >> danella sealock, what's going on out there? >> in the district and northwest, dealing with an earlier fire activity. ingraham street is closed at 9th avenue. take jefferson northwest or

hamilton to let crews work. let's head over to virginia. rolling road at braddock road, the left lane is blocked because of an accident. road work in virginia traveling the outer loop, the left lane is taken away. back to you both. >> thanks, danella. new this morning, a search for a gunman in prince george's county who shot and killed a man. it was reported around 7:00 in hill crest heights. when officers arrived, they found a man outside an apartment with a gunshot wound. police are trying to fig figure out what led to the shooting. a person was killed in a blaze near gallaudet university. >> reporter: all the remains scorched earth and burned tries. obvious signs that something violent happened here.

it was shortly after 9:00 p.m. police got the report of a fire behind the hamilton school in northwest. they found a car completely engulfed in flames. they found the body of an adult male. it was found in the drive way of the parking lot, one way in, one way out. police are calling it an apparent car crash. the fire was big enough they evacuated one of the dorms. no students were injured. what remains now is a mystery as to how this happens. in northeast, derrick ward, news 4. who would attack a girl inside a bathroom at a public library? the girl told police she was studying at the thomas jefferson library when she noticed a man staring at her. she ducked into the ladies room for safety and he followed and

assaulted her. police say a woman has reported being groped in one fairfax county neighborhood. police believe the man in that sketch is responsible for all attacks. it happened within a half hour of each other. several of these attacks involved young ladies under the age of 18. >> eight after 11:00 is the time. gabrielle giffords to confront the man that shot her in the head. president obama made a victory speech. what is holding up election when we switched to fios, we got better tv,

better phone, better internet. it was like somebody like took our computer, shook all the junk out of it. we're actually getting more for our money with fios. [ male announcer ] it's time to get more for your money. upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone with our best price online. just $84.99 a month, guaranteed for one year with no annual contract. there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. [ woman 1 ] couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips. [ male announcer ] get tv rated #1 in customer satisfaction. and get the school year off to a great start with america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. internet is absolutely imperative for school nowadays. look up this, write an essay on that. my life is greatly improved because of fios. [ male announcer ] move up to fios today for just $84.99 a month for a year. with no annual contract, there's no reason to wait. you should totally get fios. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/whyfios now and see if you qualify for a $5 amazon gift card.

there's no purchase necessary. welcome to life on fios. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

today the man who killed six people and wounded 13 others including arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords will learn his fate. he faces life in prison for a shooting outside a safeway. today, several victims will confront him for the first time since the shooting. mark kelly is expected to speak. the army private jailed in the wikileaks scandal. reports said yesterday during pretrial hearings, lawyers for manning offered a plea that he would take responsibility for leaking at least some of the documents. he's been in jail for almost three years after documents about afghanistan and iraq were leaked on the web. new this morning, president obama constantly on the road during the gruelling campaign is set to make a trip in two weeks. it's said to be ground breaking.

an official from myanmar says the president will visit either november 18th or 19th. it's the first ever visit by a u.s. president. they are trying to encourage democracy in that nation. the president is scheduled to visit thailand and cambodia that same week. the work on the project to be sworn in starts now. look at this. the inauguration stage is going up on the west lawn of the capital. many transportation agencies are preparing for the huge crowds. metro saw the most riders ever four years ago with more than 1.5 million trips on trains and buses. this time, they expect between 500,000 and 800,000. there will be a $15 commemorative smart card. the presidential election is over, of course. it still feels a bit like the

2000 election. look at the electoral college map. notice something missing? florida is still undecided. workers are still counting ballots. they blame it on a lengthy ballot with constitutional amendment questions. they received thousands of absentee ballots. some voters who had to wait in line for hours to cast their ballot say there wasn't enough machines or poll workers. the finish to the d.c. united series. they have to wait until tonight to watch game two for the playoff series because of the storm. snow postponed the match. the grounds crew tried to clear the field. the president tried to help out. unfortunately, it was not to be. game two set for 7:30 tonight after a draw in the series opener. tonight's winner starts on sunday. it's another sign the storm is

wreaking havoc. >> you have to move to stay warm. >> it's wet snow, isn't it? >> it sure was and just missed us. a two hour drive north of here, six inches of snow on the ground. that's how close it came to us. thankfully, it passed north of us and stayed farther out to sea. we have been getting wind from it. we got flurries and light rain. now, this is the picture that tells the story of the weather this afternoon. i stepped outside and took this picture. this is a flag flapping in a very stiff wind now. we are beginning to clear out getting increasing sunshine. the winds have been gusting 20 to 25 miles per hour. send your pictures to weather@nbcwashington.com. here is the view, live picture from nbc 4 hd camera. there's the washington monument bathed in sunshine.

49 at reagan national. look at the dew point. dry, down to 17. the wind is steady at 15. occasionally gusts around 25 miles an hour. fredericksburg at 55. right around washington, generally in the upper 40s, still cold out of the mountains. they were in the low 20s this morning. climbing to mid to upper 30s there. the eastern shore and new england, it's where the wind has been strong as the storm system pulled away over the last 12 hours. we had a little wintry precipitation tonight. it's clearing out, west to east. we are going to have the dry air continuing to move in. meanwhile, this is the storm still spinning away. you are looking like a hurricane that's been gradually tracking north. here is nantucket. the center of circulation is west of it. buzzards bay, a peak gust of 76 miles per hour late yesterday afternoon as the storm was

approaching. all this heavy snow through connecticut and new england. heaviest snows northern new jersey. 13.5 inches. parts of connecticut over a foot of snow. north haven, connecticut had a foot. as you look farther north, six to seven inches in massachusetts up toward new hampshire, vermont and maine. it's windy there and raining. we are feeling the wind in that storm as we get a northwesterly flow here. the wind is going to pull away later today and we'll settle down. going forward with time, the clouds clearing out. cold air settling in as we have high pressure moving in from the midwest. it will be calmer tomorrow. as we get into friday afternoon, saturday and sunday, plenty of sunshine for the rest of the afternoon. sunny, chilly. the wind gusting 25 to 30 miles per hour. we have to climb into the low and mid-50s here. tonight, if you are going out, sunset is early at 5:00.

lighter breezes, thankfully, but cold near 40. by dawn tomorrow, near freezing, starting off friday morning. during the day on friday, lots of sun, into the mid-50s. lighter winds. then a wonderful warm upcoming in for the weekend and the first part of next week. feast your eyes on the seven day outlook. maybe showers on tuesday as the front comes on through. we are happy to see that storm go away. >> yes, we are. >> thanks a lot, tom. we are going to check on the midday traffic now. >> danella, any changes to report? >> i'm watching i-66. it's sluggish as you make your way eastbound. the delays are brief. they start at nutley. no accidents on 66 eastbound or westbound. shooting to i-270, nice trip southbound toward the beltway. northbound, too. as you make your way between frederick and the beltway, clear

on i-270 in both directions. i'm checking the roads as well. if you are taking metro, no delays now. back to you. >> thank you. 18 after 11:00 now. still ahead, how michael jackson's "thriller" is helping kids with their math skills. plus, barefoot running. what are the benefits? and what about those strange looking finger shoes? you know the shoes that look like fingers. what's up with that? >> here's a look at what's hot on www.nbcwashington.com. when we switched to fios, we got better tv,

better phone, better internet. it was like somebody like took our computer,

shook all the junk out of it. we're actually getting more for our money with fios. [ male announcer ] it's time to get more for your money. upgrade to verizon fios internet, tv and phone with our best price online. just $84.99 a month, guaranteed for one year with no annual contract. there's at least three computers. [ girl 1 ] a tablet. [ woman 1 ] couple of gaming systems. we could all be running at the same time. we do not notice any dips. [ male announcer ] get tv rated #1 in customer satisfaction. and get the school year off to a great start with america's fastest, most consistent and most reliable internet. internet is absolutely imperative for school nowadays. look up this, write an essay on that. my life is greatly improved because of fios. [ male announcer ] move up to fios today for just $84.99 a month for a year. with no annual contract, there's no reason to wait. you should totally get fios. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/whyfios now and see if you qualify for a $5 amazon gift card. there's no purchase necessary. welcome to life on fios. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

recent studyings show that running barefoot, the old fashioned way, the way people used to run strengthens your feet and can be more natural. if you are not convinced, there

are barefoot running shoes. dr. raymond joins us to talk about whether the strange looking shoes are right for you. i called them finger shoes. you said that's not the title. >> they are five-toe shoes. what they are is minimalist running shoes. it's what a lot of running stores call them. >> the benefits. when i look at them, i have seen them for awhile in sporting goods stores. i don't think they offer a lot of support just on sight. >> exactly. excellent point. for you to appreciate the benefits, you have to understand the biomechanics of your feet. if you can understand that, if you can understand the facts behind the shoes, then you can appreciate those benefits. not everyone should be wearing them. >> who should be wearing them? what kind of foot do you have to have to be effective in these shoes. >> if you don't have a history

of foot problems, pain, achilles problems, stress fractures, then you are okay wearing them. when you run in them, you hit the ground at a forefoot meaning your feet hit the ground in this direction first, as opposed to your heel hitting the ground first. >> here are the benefits as you were talking about. >> these are the benefits behind the shoes. lightweight, which makes them very -- for runners they like that. little or no stabl. thin soles. it's thinner than a traditional shoe. >> when i look at these, are you okay running on a gravelly surface, mountain running, trail running? i would feel safer in a more traditional shoe. >> sure. these are great for running on grass and gravelly surfaces. most of the people that enjoy

that type of running like to feel more connected or close to the ground. since these shoes are lower than standard shoes, yes, they are very beneficial for running on those surfaces. >> i took a look at research and came up with a guy fromme ethiopia. >> he ran barefoot in 1960 and in 1964, set a world record wearing shoes. what is the performance difference? >> you are talking an elite athlete, someone with phenomenal biomechanics in his feet. he could probably run the marathon on his hands. that much of an elite athlete. someone like that is few and far between. >> what about the traditional running shoe? are they less popular? >> not really. a small percentage of the

running population use these five-toe running shoes. with the standard traditional running shoe, there are facts behind these as well that you want to understand. >> like what? >> primarily with these shoes, a higher heel, more padding here. they are wider which makes them more stable shoes. with these shoes here, there's more function. it gives you more biomechanic support when running and hitting the ground on different surfaces. these, you want to refrain on the hard surfaces and focus more on soft surfaces. >> two questions, price difference? >> sure. price difference, there's not much. they are very equal. in the long scheme of things, you can save money with fewer visits to the doctor if you understand if you are not supposed to be wearing these shoes. >> and, how do you keep these shoes from being odorous? >> it's hard to. it's the number one complaint from people that enjoy and wear

these shoes is keeping them, you know, from having some type of odor. each toe is encased. it's hard to do so. washing machine, sprays. >> baby powder? >> baby powder. >> lots of baby powder. thank you for helping us get a handle on the difference between these special shoes, the toe shows and the traditional running shoe. >> my pleasure. the time is 11:27. coming up in a half hour, why a flash mob is gathering right now at the national portrait gallery. here are their participants getting ready for the big event. plus, tom kierein is back looking ahead to the weekend. good news is in the forecast. not your average football player. wait until you hear this story. something special about that little one. not little guy. hang tight.

right now on news 4 midday, people across the northeast are cleaning up after a snowstorm. the storm is moving out of new england where it's expected to dump almost a foot of snow. police in connecticut say it could be to blame for two traffic deaths. so far, the storm is responsible for 135,000 power outages in new york and new jersey. the storm dumped almost five inches of snow in central park. people are gathering at a tucson, arizona courthouse. he's the man accused of killing six and wounding 13 including gabrielle giffords outside a supermarket last year. giffords and some other survives are expected to be there. their first encounter since the shooting. lof ner is expected to get life in prison. the east coast rapist is

expected to plead guilty to two crimes this month. the 2009 attack on three teenagers in prince william county and the 2001 rape of a woman in her apartment. thomas was arrested in connecticut after a multistate search. he's responsible for at least 17 attacks on women since 1997 in virginia, maryland, connecticut and rhode island. he faces life in prison for both pleas. 30 people are out of their homes this morning after the second fire in less than a month at a maryland apartment complex. the latest blaze sparked yesterday afternoon damaging a dozen apartments. the fire and smoke so intense firefighters were forced to only attack the fire from the outside. residents say the cold, damp weather makes their situation really tough. >> you are comfortable, warm, dry. the next day, you are out of a

house. >> investigators do not believe the two fires are connected, but they are trying to determine the cause of yesterday's blaze. after maryland voters approved same-sex marriage this week, gay and lesbian couples wishing to tie the knot won't have to wait much longer. they can apply for marriage licenses now but won't receive them until january 2nd. sake sex couples wanting to marry after new york city brought in $250 million during the first year that couples could wed there. meanwhile, the first new jobs to come from the passing of question 7 in maryland could be available soon. owner of the new casino say they are planning to hire hundreds of people. the maryland casino expects to hire new people to handle table games.

prince george's county should have a casino by 2016. mgm wants to build one in national harbor. i want to check with tom on the forecast. warming up yet? >> i can't believe you are making me stand out here. >> believe it. believe it. >> i'm wearing a warm winter coat under a blue sky with nice sunshine. not too bad. the wind is still a bit blustery. take a look at this live view from the city camera. look at the flags flapping in a stiff wind. the wind has been gusting to around 25 to 30 miles an hour the last several hours. it's going to continue into the afternoon as we begin to clear out from west to east and getting increasing sunshine and we are going to have that with us for the rest of the afternoon. right now, temperatures around the region are hovering near 50 degrees. much of virginia and maryland farther west. it's climbing to near 50 degrees, too. later today, hovering in the mid-50s for several hours.

the winds settle down under a clear sky and a cold start tomorrow morning, near freezing. again, in the mid-50s. lots of sun and lighter wind. a wonderful warm up for the weekend. chilly in the morning saturday, sunday and monday. afternoon highs each day, low to mid-60s. then on tuesday, we could get showers. right now, the timing will be midday in the afternoon as the front sweeps through. after that, we dry out on wednesday. that is the way it looks, barbara and keith. >> thank you. >> we don't feel that bad for you. you have the good life. the good life. >> he's getting sunshine out there. a developing story. at least 48 people are dead after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit. tremors felt in mexico and el salve dor. it destroyed homes, buildings and blocked roads. thousands of soldiers are heading there to help police hand out supplies.

this is the strongest earthquake to hit guatemala since 1975. scientists believe they found a family of planets that may be capable of supporting life as we know it. one is so big, it's called super earth. they discovered the planet back in 2008 orbiting an orange star. it's roughly 42 light years away and the constellation. this is an artist rendering of that planet. it's a rocky world, at least seven times the size of earth. they believe it can contain liquid water or the surface or on the surface, which would be necessary for the type of life we know. a check on the traffic now. we are hoping folks living the life out there on the roads are moving to wherever they want to go. danella? >> unfortunately, there's a crash on the outer loop of the beltway at 450.

it is blocking two of your left lanes. i'm going to step out so you can see this. this is where the accident is happening. check out the delays here. they are growing. to get around it, stick to the right. for now, two of your left lanes are blocked. let's talk about some good news if you are traveling along 29 and maryland. columbia down to the beltway. here is a look at fairland road. northbound and southbound, no issues. keith, over to you. >> thank you. prosecutors found a man that stole a truck with president obama's audio equipment inside. they charged eric brown of richmond with theft of government property. it disappeared last october. the equipment included the teleprompter and items containing the president's seal. no classified or sensitive information was inside the truck. if convicted, he faces ten years in prison.

an ohio woman caught driving on a sidewalk to go around a school bus must face unusual punishment. you can see the car drive on the sidewalk and the grass. a judge sentenced the driver to stand on a corner near the intersection where it happened and hold a sign saying quote, only an idiot would drive around a school bus. the judge suspended her drivers license for 30 days. she must pay $250 in court fees. right now, students in southeast d.c. are preparing to show off their dance moves while learning mathematics. this lesson is part theory and pop culture. it's also a flash mob. tony tull is live at the gallery in northwest d.c. where all the action is happening. hey, tony. >> reporter: all the action is right. it's been an exciting morning as you can imagine getting 100 elementary students from their

school to the metro to the portrait gallery. they are doing a flash mob. they were showing such promise they were one of eight people selected by a program to give them art supplies and a music curriculum to help with math and science. a side bar is when they do well, they get off school, a field trip downtown to washington, d.c. and get to have fun and do a flash mob. i want to talk to the program director. how nice is it to see what this program can do? >> kids are from washington, d.c. the evidence right here of how much confidence and joy and success the arts can bring to a school, preparing for this "thriller" flash mob made them want to come to school. attendance is up. grades are going up. leadership is investing in the

arts. >> reporter: we went to the school earlier and talking with some of the kids. we actually helped them paint their faces. every single kid i talked to was so excited about not just the flash mob, but the program, $10,000 worth of art supplies from crayola. >> musical instruments. >> this is clearly been such a positive program for the school. >> absolutely. it's really fantastic. i hope your viewers get to see the full beauty of these kids and what they are doing. >> reporter: right now, they are doing their rendition of "thriller." they have their white faces painted on, ripped jeans and shirts. it was quite the production earlier. they are the savoie players. they put their costumes on this morning, did their make up and rehearsal at the school. we got 100 savoie elementary school kids on the metro and here to the national portrait

gallery. >> they were so awesome to us. we were trying to get 100 kids through there. thank you. yeah, children engaged in the arts are four times more likely to be successful in school, to graduate from high school. we are really thrilled and excited that we have this here in d.c. >> how is the school, if they are watching this and want to be involved how can they get involved in this? >> we are in eight schools around the country. any school can do this. go to our website at the president's community for the arts and humanity and find out how to do this. >> reporter: barbara and keith, there you have it. when a great program comes together, over 100 kids from savoie elementary school performing "thriller." from 9:30 when they started getting ready to now, it's been

quite the production. it's very, very impressive to see what these kids have accomplished. back to you guys in the studio. >> whatever they are doing, tony, the fact they are doing it in unison is positive. thank you. this girl is doing it by herself. she can hang with the boys, she dominates. her name is sam gordon. according to this video posted online, she had one incredible football season as a quarterback. nearly 2,000 yards rushing, eight yards for a carry, 35 touchdowns. she has 65 tackles while playing defense. most impressive, it's her first year playing. she used to play soccer. the video has more than 1 million hits on youtube. she's from salt lake city and she says, barbara, the thing that gets her going is that when all the guys see her and say wow, that's a girl. it makes her run even harder and faster.

>> look at that. boy, she has some moves, doesn't she? amazing. we'll see if she makes it to the nfl. putting all the boys to shame. coming up, the latest from wall street. >> plus, the new television role for vice president joe biden. ha's that? stick around.

perhaps vice president biden has a career in hollywood when he gets tired of this politics thing. he's making a cameo on the episode of "parks and recreation." he'll play himself. he'll have a conversation with the character played by amy poehler. it's been a long running joke on the show that she has a crush on biden. they shot the scene this summer in washington. it airs a week from tonight at 9:30. stocks are down this morning. let's check in with julia.

she joins us live with that and the rest of the day's business headlines. hello. >> hello to you, keith. stocks erased early gains. more than 300 points yesterday, today the dow is down about 20 points. it's a fraction of a percent. the nasdaq is down by a third of a percent. the s&p 500 is down slightly. on the economic front, jobless claims fell to 355,000 in this previous week. it's less than the jobless number economists expected. trade deficit narrowed as exports increased a sign the economy expanded more than previously thought. earnings results out today, mcdonald's reporting the first monthly sales drop in nine years. they are feeling the effects of the economy and rivals like burger king and wendys.

black friday has moved to thursday, at least for walmart. the retailer is giving bargain hunters a $75 gift card with the purchase of an ipad if they are online between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. on thanksgiving night. i'm not sure if that's how i want to spend my thanksgiving. >> thanks for checking in. in this week's wednesday's child, we meet a boy that loves all things outdoors. william is his name. he loves animals, especially dogs. he would like to have a dog of his own, but first a place to call his own. >> what a welcome we got from georgia, the golden retriever. what do you think of georgia? >> she's pretty. >> this 16-year-old loves dogs. a shop in arlington that has

everything for man's best friend, even a dog trainer who comes to work with dogs like georgia who drop by. william enjoyed helping out. >> he's a country boy. he loves anything outdoors, he loves to swim, work on vintage cars. he likes playing football. he loves animals. >> william has had to move from one foster home to another over the past eight years says he once had a dog at one of his placements. >> it was my dog. i just trained it like it was my dog and it was a black lab. no one was taking care of it in my house, so i took care of it. >> he never cooked up dog biscuits like this. we got a lesson, letting william add the ingredients, including the peanut butter, mix it up and

cut them into bones and bake them until they were golden brown. >> i think she likes peanut butter, what do you think? would you like to have another dog? >> i would. >> maybe that's what you should look for, a family for you that likes dogs so you could have your own dog. >> we are looking for a two-parent home that can be patient with william and provide him with the instruction he needs. >> there were gifts for him to take home including a sweatshirt and a game called golden-opoly. one day, he might have a real home and a real dog like georgia. if you have room in your home and heart for william or another child, call our hot line. the number is 1-888-to-adopt-me. >> the way he cares for dogs and

that dog in particular, hopefully a family cares for him like that. >> that's what we are waiting to hear. the time is 11:50. a look at movies getting oscar consideration, at least hoping to. tom kierein will be back

in today's theme, the oscar race. we have julia here to talk about it. do movie directors hold back films so people will remember them or judges will when oscar season or voting is happening? >> it's the common wisdom. if you want to see the best movies, the most artistic movies this is the time to do it. >> tell me a little bit about the european film showcase. >> the eu film showcase is beginning this weekend. you can see foreign oscar contenders. they are going to be hot films including dustin hoffman's

direct directorial debut. the film opens tomorrow. >> these are not just european films? >> that is. >> oh, it is? wow. >> you will be surprised. >> they could be oscar contenders. there's another one you talk about, silver lining play book with bradley cooper. let's look at that. >> the whole time you root for the guys, survive the war and be with the woman he loves. >> it's 4:00 in the morning, pat. >> i can't apologize. i will apologize to earnest hemming way. >> who is in that one? >> bradley cooper. >> oh, yeah. >> this is a film we haven't had a lot. it's going to be important. it comes from the movie "the fighter." it opens next friday. put it on your calendar. it's in theaters across the country. >> finally, nobody walks.

>> if you are a fan of lena, the writer of hbos girls, she's got her second film out. she co-wrote the film. it's popular among young folks who want to see something edgier. >> you have big ones opening the next few weeks. >> i know. >> thanks so much for reminding us about the movies. for more ideas for your weekend, log on to www.nbcwashington.com or the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. let's look at the stories we are following this afternoon. pat lawson muse is in the news room with that. >> some people can't seem to stop surfing the web. there's a rehab program for internet addicts. is it a health issue? we get to the bottom of that controversy. >> robbers on motorcycles. this happened at 10:00 in the

morning with choppers standing by. how that unfolded. barking deals or bad buys? if using a no contract cell phone worth it? test your spending savvy with a new liz quiz. the news in the afternoon starts at 4:00. keith? >> see you then. it's time for a final check on the forecast. >> it's blustery and chilly out there. it's warmer than it was this morning. as we look at what's been happening since last night, we got the wet snow, now it's gone. getting sunshine back. low 50s around the area. mid-50s by mid afternoon. tomorrow, lighter winds and still chilly. over the weekend, warming up. delightful pattern. that's the way it looks. see you tomorrow morning. >> thank you. >> thank as lot mom and dad. a little girl was posing for a picture at a zoo in france when

a lion decided to get closer. it snuck upright behind her. what does she do? turns around, screams, slams on the glass. go for it, girl. she doesn't like him right there. then she skips away. >> that's a face she never wants to see again. at least she didn't scamper away. she skipped away. >> didn't seem to be scared. >> fearful, but not too fearful. thanks for joining us. tune in at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 for the days news. >> we'll be back tomorrow. hope you plan to join us for that. until then, have a terrific day. i got it when my internet here was faster than at my office. [ male announcer ] when people switch from cable to verizon fios,

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